It also means that, despite reports that the Sox put a claim on left-handed hitting outfielder Jason Kubel, that Kubel will remain with the Minnesota Twins for at least the rest of the regular season.

A source emphasized Friday morning that the Sox did not put a claim on either Jim Thome or Kubel but did put a claim on an undisclosed player that wouldn't impact the Sox's roster this season.

That coincides with comments made by Sox general manager Ken Williams on Aug. 16 about the Sox's nil chances of making a waiver claim.

“I’ve made no secret about it quite a while that we are limited from a payroll standpoint at this point and time,” Williams said. “We haven’t earned our fans’ patronage enough to put us in that position, and that’s nobody’s fault except our own fault.

“Anything that would come across right now, even if it were appealing from a talent standpoint, we are not in a position to be able to do it."

Receiving Kubel in a waiver claim would have cost the Sox about $900,000 for the balance of the season and Thome (now with Cleveland) about $500,000.